Jim Henson/Death
On May 4, 1990, Henson appeared with Kermit on The Arsenio Hall Show, for what turned out to be his last television appearance. At the time, he disclosed to his publicist that he was tired and had a sore throat, but felt that it would soon go away. On May 12, Henson traveled to Ahoskie, North Carolina, with his daughter Cheryl to visit his father and stepmother. While there, Henson consulted a local doctor for what appeared to be an influenza-like illness. They returned to their home in New York City the following day, and Henson cancelled a Muppet recording session that had been scheduled for May 14.6 His estranged wife, Jane, came to visit that night. On May 15, Henson woke up at around 2:00 a.m. where he was having trouble breathing and began coughing up blood. He suggested to his wife that he might be dying, but he did not want to take time off from his schedule to visit a hospital. Two hours later, he finally agreed to be taken by taxi to the emergency room at New York Hospital in Manhattan. Shortly after admission, he stopped breathing, and an X-ray revealed that he had abscesses in his lungs as a result of a viral infection. Henson was placed on a ventilator, but he deteriorated over the next several hours, despite increasingly aggressive treatment with multiple antibiotics. On the early morning of May 16, 1990, just over 20 hours after being admitted, Henson died at the age of 53 at the intensive care unit of New York Hospital. News of his sudden and unexpected death spread quickly and fans from around the world responded with tributes and condolences. Many of Henson's co-stars and directors from Sesame Street, the Muppets, and other works also shared their thoughts on his death.32 Dr. David Gelmont, one of the doctors who treated Henson at New York Hospital, first announced that Henson had died from Streptococcus pneumoniae, an infection that causes bacterial pneumonia.7 However, he confirmed on May 29 that Henson's cause of death was organ dysfunction resulting from streptococcal toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus pyogenes.34 On May 21, Henson's public memorial service was conducted in Manhattan at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Another was conducted on December 2 at St Paul's Cathedral in London. In accordance with Henson's wishes, no one in attendance wore black, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band finished the service by performing "When the Saints Go Marching In". Harry Belafonte sang "Turn the World Around," a song that he had debuted on The Muppet Show, as each member of the congregation waved a brightly colored foam butterfly attached to a puppet performer's rod.3334 Later, Caroll Spinney walked onto the stage dressed as Big Bird and sang Kermit the Frog's signature song "Bein' Green".35 Dave Goelz, Frank Oz, Kevin Clash, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, and Richard Hunt sang a medley of Jim Henson's favorite songs in their characters' voices, ending with a performance of "Just One Person".36 The funeral was described by Life as "an epic and almost unbearably moving event."19 Category:Actors Category:Actors are Dead